]]>We’ve been bombarded with press releases piggybacking Dry January, Burns Night and Valentine’s Day. Here’s a selection of the boozes we guzzled for the occasions…

Alcohol Free Beers

At the back end of last year we put together a list of the best alcohol free beers for the Independent following a mammoth, week-long tasting session.* Since then we’ve been inundated with breweries and PR companies asking if we’ve tried their products. In most cases the answer was ‘yes’, but they weren’t good enough to topple the winner, vandeStreek Playground. Of those that failed to get a mention but deserve some credit were alcohol-free versions of Adnam’s Ghost Ship and Green King’s Old Speckled Hen (both 0.5% ABV). Each one tasted remarkably similar to their booze-backed namesakes with the only obvious tell tale signs of difference being a slightly thin finish to Ghost Ship and a touch of raw malt Speckling the Hen’s flavour. We would both gladly drink them in place of alcohol in future.

Rum Punch

Joining the alcohol-free party was a new rum punch called ‘Punchy’. As with our beers, the producers have created two versions – one with alcohol (at 4% ABV) and one without. They were both similar tasting and very decent drinks, with tropical fruit flavours and a touch of ginger coming through at the finish. They managed to avoid the over-sweet, syruppy taste of similar drinks with some dry fizz giving them a bit of sophistication. The rum in the alcohol added an extra layer of smooth warmth and some richness to the flavours – and although the alcohol-free version was perfectly drinkable, the dab of rum reminded us why alcohol is so great: it’s not just about its intoxicating effects, it simply makes perfectly good drinks taste and feel even better.

Glenfairn Highland Single Malt Whisky, 40%

Supermarket giant Tesco recently unveiled a new range of single malt whiskies at bargain prices, each representing a different whisky making region of Scotland: Speyside, Highland and Islay. With the press release arriving just a few weeks short of Burns Night our eyes were drawn to the tactically smart food matching notes of the Highland offering: “Pair with a veggie or traditional haggis supper.” Nick got himself a bottle and performed haggis and whisky scoffing duties, mixing his glass of Highland malt with soda water to make it a more meal-friendly drink. His gravy-stained, scribbled tasting notes read thus: “Enough oaky depth to cope with the peppery haggis and mustard, and there were also accents of floral honey riding the fizz, adding a refreshing touch to the meal.”

Tesco’s new Glenfairn single malt whiskies, including our Highland edition, are all priced at £20 per 700ml bottle and are available from the Tesco website

Tesco’s Highland whisky and a scruffy plate of haggis

Nelson’s Gin, 41%

With Valentine’s Day looming we were at the end of a flurry of marketing emails promoting romantically themed boozes (and some limited edition Marmite). One such notification that caught our attention came from Nelson’s Gin, who released a limited edition rose and raspberry gin that was promoted by Master Distiller Neil Harrison with this line: “The combination of the dopamine-boosting alcohol, aphrodisiacal rose petals and libido-enhancing raspberries is the perfect way to get things going this February.” We prefer to focus on flavour rather than other potential fruity shenanigans and can report that it’s a floral delight with subtle hints of fruitiness from the raspberries.

The gin is available on its own (at £40 per 700ml bottle) or in a gift set with chocolates (priced £58.82) from the Nelson’s Gin shop.

]]>http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/02/new-booze-round-up-4-dry-january-burns-night-valentines-day/feed/0Interview: the company growing mushrooms on used coffee grounds and whisky grainshttp://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/02/green-growing-mushrooms-on-used-coffee-grounds-whisky-grains/
http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/02/green-growing-mushrooms-on-used-coffee-grounds-whisky-grains/#respondWed, 13 Feb 2019 10:14:29 +0000http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/?p=9036Green Grow is a new business that grows mushrooms on used coffee grounds and whisky grains. We had to find out more about this boozy, fungi collaboration…

]]>Green Grow is an innovative new business that has developed sustainable techniques for growing mushrooms on used coffee grounds and whisky grains, which are then used to produce ready-to-cook meals. We caught up with Business Development Manager Dr Isabella Guerrini de Claire (pictured with Director Iain Findlay) to find out more about the project and how mushrooms can play a key role in creating a more eco-friendly future…

You grow mushrooms using coffee and whisky grains. How did the idea for this come about?The idea is originally from the Blue Economy work of Gunter Pauli but in our case, we wanted a showcase to help companies understand the principles of the circular economy which we mentor start-ups in, and promote to other organisations, both private and public. Re-using bio-resources like coffee and grains is a necessary step to make better use of resources without depleting natural systems. The mushrooms grown on coffee seems to be an effective way to demonstrate these principles so that people quickly grasp the idea more generally. I was cycling past a distillery one day and just watched as all that heat went to waste. I thought it would be a perfect match-up and we approached the distillery who were happy to let us try.

What are the techniques you use to grow the mushrooms and what are the advantages of growing them this way?We use fairly standard mushroom growing techniques but have adapted some parts. For example, we’re re-using captured waste heat from a distillery as well as growing on the grains. The low grade heat in the water is normally allowed to disipate into the atmosphere before the water is released into the environment. We re-channeled the water into shipping containers to create the necessary warmth and humidity to make the mushrooms grow. The advantages are that we save on fossil fuels and make better use of the used bio-resources to create at least two more products, mushrooms and mushroom compost.

We collect sawdust from a local sawmill to use as a fuel source. We also re-use plastic containers thrown out by a local bakery as our growing containers. These can be re-used multiple times, rather than the single use plastic bags that are used in oyster mushroom production. Our new system uses some pretty fancy engineering to create good growing conditions and we can control this remotely using feedback from the system. And finally, the ready-to-cook meals are plant based so that encourages people to eat a healthy diet. The mushroom compost is then added to the soil to re-build natural capital, a prime goal of the Circular Economy.

Does the growing medium affect the flavour of the mushrooms?Ha. If only that were true. No, the mushrooms digest the lignin in the growing medium and all they taste of is really lovely mushrooms.

What type of mushrooms do you grow?We grow oyster mushrooms on the bio-resources. Mushrooms inhabit an enormous variety of niches in nature as decomposers and are adapted to those materials only. We will likely start to grow other kinds, but on the coffee and distillery/brewery grains we stick to grey oysters.

Where do you get your whisky grains from? We get them from a Speyside distillery. We have signed a non-disclosure agreement and can’t tell you their name. We also use coffee grounds collected from a local Costa cafe, but also sawdust from a local sawmill at Logie Estates near Forres, who power their machhinery using renewable energy sources.

Where do your mushrooms get used?We are using them to add to our vegan ready-to-cook meals, but we also sell some locally through a vegetable box scheme.

You’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign. How can people get involved in the business?Yes, the crowd-funding campaign is aimed at helping us to understand potential customers but also to fund raise for the equipment we need to develop some of the really interesting aspects of mushrooms. We want to use the roots, the mycelium, to develop bio-degradeable packaging for our products – mushroom meals wrapped in their own roots. People can visit our website www.greengrowfoods.shop.

They can also follow us on twitter @GreenGrowFood or on Facebook for updates and fascinating fungi facts. We need to get access to some machinery and also fund the R and D. Most perople are now aware of the danger we are in because of plastic packaging. Mushroom based technology can play a part in develping alternatives that are bio-degradeable, compostable and even nutritious if a passing turtle or fish comes across a piece.

How do you see your business developing over the next few years and are there any plans to try other sustainable growing mediums?We want to expand the number of people growing mushrooms using our system. They can then sell the product themselves or sell them back to us for inclusion in the ready-to-cook meal boxes. This allows them to focus on growing the mushrooms without having to put in lots of effort to sell them. Our system, developed with a renewable energy company, allows for the growing conditions to be monitored and controlled making it easier for people to be successful, but it also allows for product traceability which is important for some of the higher end applications we want to explore, like medicines and packaging materials. We are working with some very cool groups in Belgium, including a PhD, to develop the mycelium packaging. If we can do it for ourselves, then we can develop transformative solutions for other companies who need eco-friendly packaging.

We’re looking into other sustainable growing mediums but need to focus on what we know works for the moment. There are a lot of grains and coffee out there that can be re-valorised and turned into healthy food, exceptional soil conditioner or new packaging materials.

Finally, can you recommend a mushroom-based dish and a whisky to have with it.I would have to go with our mushroom lentil meal. The lentils are grown at 1,000m in Italian co-operative farms and are really delicious. If I was drinking whisky with that meal I would probably have to go with a Bowmore 12 year old. And yes, I would add a wee dash of water too.

]]>http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/02/green-growing-mushrooms-on-used-coffee-grounds-whisky-grains/feed/0Asahi vs Fullers: tasting the range before the takeover kicks inhttp://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/02/asahi-fullers-tasting-range-takeover-hophead-gales-pilsner-urquell-meantime/
http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/02/asahi-fullers-tasting-range-takeover-hophead-gales-pilsner-urquell-meantime/#respondWed, 06 Feb 2019 13:43:07 +0000http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/?p=9013We've been down to London to get a refresher of Fuller's beers before the Asahi effect kicks in (and we drank from Asahi's current range while there)

]]>On Friday 25 January 2019 the beer world was ROCKED by the announcement that Japanese booze giant Asahi had bought Fuller’s brewing business for £250 million. Social Media frothed like a pint of London Pride forced through a sprinkler, while beer experts scurried to keyboards and radio stations to deliver their verdicts on the takeover.

Exactly one week later were due to meet up on a working trip to London. Should we use this opportunity to delve deeper into the story? What would be our take on the takeover? Who would be the winners and losers? After pondering these questions for a few seconds we decided to simply drink the beer instead, so planned a hunt for six products from Asahi’s new portfolio to see how they all compared before the businesses were properly integrated.

When the day arrived, the South West was buried under a foamy white head of snow. While I was able to battle the blizzards and safely get to Frome train station, Rich was less fortunate in his Alpine dwelling on the edge of Bath and remained trapped in his house like a wasp in a glass of cider – angrily thrashing at the walls trying to escape while everyone else is shouting “you’re better off where you are.” So I went on a frosty beer hunt alone…

Snow in Somerset

Pilsner Urquel, 4.4%

Many of those who are unconcerned about Asahi’s ownership of Fuller’s point to the fact that Pilsner Urquel, the world’s first lager, has been produced to the same high standards for years. I cannily arranged a mid-afternoon meeting in the Argyll Arms, opposite Oxford Circus tube station, where the Czech lager was on tap and ordered the first glass of it I’ve had for years.

The beer had loads of flavour, with the light grain of the malt and the moreish pepper of the hops working perfectly in tandem. You can pick any classic lager descriptor and put a tick by it: Clean? Yes. Fresh? Definitely. Crisp? Absolutely. A well rounded glass of refined refreshment with enough of a bitter finish to induce a satisfying ‘ahhhh…’

Meantime, London Pale, 4.3%

We’ve always liked Meantime’s beers yet are rarely drawn towards them in a pub, so on the occasions we order one of their brews it feels like we’re rediscovering them all over again. After my meeting at the Argyll Arms I stayed around for one more drink and was joined by a Finnish chap* nursing a pint of Siren’s Broken Dream. If I wasn’t on this specific beer drinking mission I would’ve ordered this rather than anything by Meantime, but I diligently stuck to the task and opted for a London Pale instead.

This was another deliciously refreshing beer. But whereas Urquel’s Pilsner had the crisp, clean flavours of a beer that has been lagered to perfection, this pale ale had the fresh vibrancy of youth: bright and breezy with the citrussy zest of American hops, a little bit sweet and sticky, and an earthier bite of bitterness at the finish. Perfectly enjoyable for a late afternoon drink (although I still hankered after that Broken Dream).

Asahi Super Dry, 5.0%

Rich’s research led me to the Bloomsbury Tavern near Tottenham Court Road for an Asahi Super Dry, but the pub had none. Not wanting to waste a trip to a decent pub I had a swift glass of Angelo Poretti Originale – a rather lifeless lager with bread and peach flavours that did little more than emphasise how good the earlier beers were. On the way to my next pub I passed an All Bar One which did boast Super Dry among its line-up. This turned out to be my least favourite pub of the day; the least favourite beer on my hit list; and the most expensive beer.

It’s easy to be a beer snob about mass produced lagers like Asahi’s, but they’re hugely popular and, in many ways, it takes more brewing skill to get them to the same standard all over the world than it does to produce a one-off porter stuffed with cocoa nibs in a railway arch. However, the high fizz and low flavour isn’t my thing and, although it was easily drinkable, without any off-notes to grumble about (and even a hint of grass and lemon-pith flavour at the finish) I can’t imagine ordering it again on many occasions.

Fuller’s London Pride, 4.1%

Back in the early 1990s London Pride was a rare beast at our favourite Somerset pubs, so when it showed up as a guest ale it was something of an event. Over the years it started appearing more regularly – and in a few pubs as a permanent addition – although the quality seemed a little less consistent, which could’ve been due to it being less well kept in some of the crustier boozers we frequented.

More recently, getting a decent pint of beer is a lot less challenging than it was so we don’t have to rely on the likes of Fuller’s for quality, although we still drink it fairly regularly, particularly when we’re in London, and reckon it tastes as good as now it has ever has.

My Pride at the Jack Horner’s pub on Tottenham Court Road was spot on, with caramelised orange just sweetening up the malty backbone while wafts of Fuller’s yeast make it, to me at least, smell like the quintessential English bitter. I could’ve easily sunk into this for a long session but there were more beers to find…

Dark Star, Hophead, 3.8%

Whenever we’re in London we aim to get back to Paddington in plenty of time for the journey home. At least half an hour gives us the opportunity to load up on train snacks and ride the escalator to Fuller’s station pub, the Mad Bishop and Bear. The beers are always in top condition and more often than not it’s Dark Star’s Hophead we make a beeline for (which transferred production to Fuller’s Chiswick brewery last year) and is one of the best contemporary cask ales around.

To maintain that tradition I ordered a Hophead, along with a plate of curry, to see me on my way and it was as good as ever. As you would expect from the name it has a lot of hoppy character, with Cascade’s grapefruit bitter tones enough to kill off any other lingering flavours of London that might be loitering around the taste buds. It’s not particularly strong and the malt is light, but it’s much more than a hop showcase: a quaffing, glugging, swigging triumph that always makes me want to squeeze another in before legging it to the train.

Gales Ales

In the late 1990s and early 2000s we made regular trips down to Portsmouth, doing little more there than watch football and drink beer (with the occasional round of pitch and putt). Our most frequently visited pub was The Fifth Hants Volunteer Arms where we would drink almost exclusively Gales HSB**, a unique, old fashioned type of fruity, nutty English bitter that gave us equally unique hangovers. By the time Gales business was bought by Fuller’s in 2005 our Pompey trips became less frequent and, when we were in town, the pubs we visited became more varied – not least because many of our local friends grumbled that HSB wasn’t the same since the buyout. When Gales ales did show up at the bar we usually downgraded to Seafarer to avoid those hangovers.

Unfortunately I didn’t encounter any Gales pump clips on the trip to London so we’ll have to revisit those beers at a future date, hopefully before the Asahi effect kicks in, to get a proper taste for how the beer has been faring under Fuller’s stewardship. And we look forward to revisiting Fuller’s other beers, praying that their new owners brew them to equally impressive standards as I found them this time around.

*He wanted to know if I knew anywhere that sold galoshes. I didn’t.

**Horndean Special Bitter, named after Gales Horndean brewery which closed not long after Fuller’s bought the business

]]>It’s winter and breweries have been working on their roastiest, toastiest beers for maximum contentment during the colder months. We’ve managed to get our hands on a few extra special seasonal ales so this latest ‘new booze round-up’ is a stout and porter special edition…

Fourpure Snowblind, 5.9%

Fourpure have gone bonkers for tonka in their latest canned offering. It’s a white stout containing tonka beans, a rather interesting adjunct that comes from the Kuaran Tree, native to central and south America. These black, wrinkly seeds are often used as a vanilla substitute in foods and perfume, and the tobacco industry have been known to grind them into tobaccos to make their cigarettes extra tasty. Mmmm…. tasty cigarettes….

Anyway, Rich reckons Snowblind is a “smooth, complex and very more-ish booze.” He goes on to describe it as “pale golden and full-bodied, it has a distinct almondy twang, with caramel, liquorice and and a slight hint of cinnamon.” Nick, who has guzzled a few white stouts recently, proclaims it as “one of the best I’ve had.” High praise indeed.

Salcombe Brewery, Island Street Porter, 5.9%

Salcombe is rapidly becoming South Devon’s booze capital, with an excellent distillery and brewery each bearing the town’s name. We first tried the brewery’s summery beers at a festival last year and were mightily impressed and we’ve now had a chance to try their new winter offering, a delicious dark porter. We felt it had the touch of wild, dark fruits about it – with rich and slightly tart juice, hints of sweetness and a fruit-skin bitterness. The roasted malt flavours have been smoothed out with a spoonful of creamy cocoa making it an easy sipper that’s simply done but full of flavour. Impressive stuff.

Clown Shoes, Chocolate Sombrero, 7%

We regularly dip our hop-stained fingers into beer subscription boxes – they’re one of the best ways to get hold of new beers, particularly from far flung places. The latest cardboard-encased collection of cans and bottles from Beer 52 was a Massachusetts special and it was all new to our taste buds. The pick of the crop was an Imperial Stout, described as “Mexican-style”, from a brewery called Clown Shoes. The beer is full of adjuncts including ancho chilli, cinnamon and vanilla and they’ve done well to even them all out, making a subtly spiced beer with loads of depth. The trace of chilli rides the light fizz for an extra tingle; the touches of spice help it linger longer in the mouth; and the boozy, chocolatey malt gives it a decadent sippability.

Hawkshead, Tonka Shake, 10%

We’ve been keen drinkers of Hawkshead’s beers for several years now – they’re great at simple, hoppy beers but also know how to get creative with more unusual ingredients. This new release, an “Imperial Milkshake Stout”, is another to feature the in vogue tonka bean and it’s a real treat. Its many flavours brought to mind fancy continental breakfasts: a posh muesli loaded with flakes of coconut and covered in creamy milk, with a fresh pain au chocolate on the side and an accompanying cup of black coffee that has a rich, plummy edge and wake-you-up bitterness. The one element that doesn’t belong in our breakfast picture is the whisky-ish dash of booze.

]]>http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/beer-round-up-stouts-porters-tonka-beans-salcombe-fourpure-hawkshead-clown-shoes/feed/2Wolfburn Aurora: a delicate, warming whisky for a 5pm chillhttp://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/wolfburn-aurora-whisky-review/
http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/wolfburn-aurora-whisky-review/#respondWed, 23 Jan 2019 09:45:50 +0000http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/?p=8992Whisky is great at providing extra warmth on a cold day and if you're in the mood for an afternoon snifter then we reckon Wolfburn Aurora hits the spot…

]]>I’ve been writing a lot about whisky lately and right now my office is scattered with 30ml miniature bottles of golden booze. Lots of Scottish whisky, Japanese whisky and all kinds of American bourbons and ryes, along with miniatures from more unlikely countries such as France and South Africa. I’m pretty good at avoiding the temptation to sip my way through them while working during the day, although the current cold snap is pushing that temptation to the limit.

As I write it’s approaching 5pm and the heater under my desk is failing to fight off the chill, so I’m shivering. I reckon right now is a perfectly acceptable time to twist off a whisky bottle seal and take a warming swig, so I’m diving in to a dram that I’ve previously overlooked to consider how it shapes up against the global gathering of spirits around me.

Introducing Wolfburn Distillery

The Wolfburn Distillery is located in Thurso, the most northerly town on British mainland. The current distillery began life in 2012, but Wolfburn whisky first emerged from the same site in 1821 and kept going for around 20 to 30 years before closing down. After 150 years the first new whisky was released in 2016, reviving Wolfburn and putting to good use the local supply of natural water from where it gets its name (‘burn’ means ‘stream’ or ‘small river’). Aurora is a single malt whisky created from a combination of bourbon and sherry casks and is the first of the distillery’s output that I’m getting my chops around.

Wolfburn Aurora, 46%: Tasting Notes

Of the small clutch of bottles that Wolfburn Aurora sits among, it is by far the lightest. A bright straw colour that would probably twinkle beautifully in the sunlight if the sunlight ever managed to enter my office on a grey winter day. On the nose the straw freshens, becoming meadow-like and there’s lots of sweet sherry too: it smells clean, light and immediately approachable.

That sherry sweetness has a sticky honey coating to it and is the first thing that hits the palate. With a 46%, young looking whisky that has some bourbon cask ageing behind it, I might’ve expected more of an immediate hit of alcohol, and maybe even some rough edges, but the sweetness neatly smooths everything out so when the nuttier, spicier flavours do come through they’re perfectly balanced with the overall lightness of the whisky. Vanilla flavours are evident throughout, marrying well with the upfront sweetness, accentuating some almond notes in the middle and drying out a touch at the finish to lend the whisky warmth I was looking for.

As a 5pm whisky, Aurora has hit the spot: it’s delicate, easy to drink, sweetly delicious and gently warming. The heavier hitting whisky miniatures will be steadily consumed in front of the fire during cold evenings but the half-dram-bottle of Aurora I’m left with stays on the office desk – I’m sure it will come in handy the next time the heater fails to do its job.

Wolfburn Aurora is available from Master of Malt, £48.80 for a 700ml bottle

]]>http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/wolfburn-aurora-whisky-review/feed/0How to make a rhubarb and ginger shrub: an easy alcohol-free cocktail recipehttp://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/how-to-make-rhubarb-and-ginger-shrub-easy-alcohol-free-cocktail-recipe/
http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/how-to-make-rhubarb-and-ginger-shrub-easy-alcohol-free-cocktail-recipe/#respondWed, 16 Jan 2019 14:51:36 +0000http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/?p=8977Shrubs are vinegar based cocktails that contain no booze and are very easy to make. Here's the recipe for our first attempt: rhubarb and ginger

]]>This January I’ve been having a few weeks without alcohol. Not the full Dry January but limiting booze to just a couple of days all month to make up for December’s excesses. At the top of my list of boozeless beverages is the Shrub: a fruity cocktail made from vinegar syrup and soda. To the uninitiated, drinking vinegar might sound strange, but although it’s very diluted it provides enough of an acidic snap to jolt you into life in much the same way as alcohol does.

I’ve previously bought ready made shrubs but they’re easy enough to make, so this time around I raided the freezer for some home grown rhubarb to set about making my own. The results are astonishingly good and I’m now itching to pickle more flavour combinations in further Shurb experimentation. But, until then, here’s the rhubarb and ginger recipe I settled on…

Rhubarb & Ginger Shrub Recipe

To make a Shrub you first need to make the vinegar syrup, which acts as a concentrate (much like a bottle of squash concentrate) to be diluted with soda water.

For this I used a 3:3:2 ratio of vinegar, fruit and sugar:300g cider vinegar300g rhubarb200g white sugarA small thumb sized piece of fresh ginger

Infusing

Method

1 First up, I sterilised a glass preserving jar. Vinegar should see off most bacteria but it’s still worth keeping your storage vessel sterilised for other nasties that vinegar might be less fearful of its acidic vengeance. To do this I washed the container in hot, soapy water then dried it in the oven on a low heat for 20 minutes – this also means the jar is hot when it’s time to add the hot vinegar, which will prevent the glass from cracking.

2 While the jar is in the oven put the cider vinegar in a pan and heat until it just reaches boiling point. Tip in the sugar and stir to dissolve before adding chopped rhubarb and ginger diced into tiny pieces.

3 Pour everything into the sterilised jar, seal the lid and set aside. I left mine for four days which seemed long enough to get most of the flavour from the ingredients and allow them to start mellowing with the cider vinegar.

4 Strain the vinegary liquid into a sterilised bottle, gently squeezing out the goodness, and store in the fridge.* It’s probably best to use it within a couple of weeks.

5 To make a shrub simply pour some syrup into a glass (as you would with squash – a tablespoon or two should do the trick) and top with cold soda water. Sup slowly and wonder what the fuss with alcohol** is all about…

The finished rhubarb and ginger shrub (in a wonky glass)

*You could probably use the left over solid rhubarb and ginger in a chutney

**Although the syrup would probably work well in a few alcohol-based cocktails too. Suggestions please.

]]>http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/how-to-make-rhubarb-and-ginger-shrub-easy-alcohol-free-cocktail-recipe/feed/0Hayter Osprey 46 Autodrive Lawnmower Reviewhttp://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/hayter-osprey-46-autodrive-lawnmower-review/
http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/hayter-osprey-46-autodrive-lawnmower-review/#respondMon, 14 Jan 2019 10:21:36 +0000http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/?p=8951Last year we had a Hayter Osprey 46 Autodrive Mower on a long term test and spent the summer months beasting grass on a variety of lawns. With its tour of duty now over, it currently lies dormant at the back of our brewing shed, enjoying a well earned winter rest between a broken cider […]

]]>Last year we had a Hayter Osprey 46 Autodrive Mower on a long term test and spent the summer months beasting grass on a variety of lawns. With its tour of duty now over, it currently lies dormant at the back of our brewing shed, enjoying a well earned winter rest between a broken cider press and a crate of Nick’s quarantined pea pod wine. Here’s our thoughts from a summer of use.

Unboxing and Assembly

The Hayter Osprey 46 arrived in a MASSIVE box that unfortunately had no handle holes to aid in its transportation. Cursing the uncooperative cardboard, I just about managed to manoeuvre the weighty package into an area I had earmarked for disembarkment without enraging my old hernia operation. Ideally you’ll want want to enlist help from a strong pal* for this task. On opening, the box revealed a packing masterclass, with every mower part carefully packed and wrapped and all potential finger slicing edges thoroughly sheathed. In most situations where self assembly is required, I tend to bypass the instructions and wade straight in and gues-emble the product in question, then get cross when nothing fits or works. In an unexpected change of habit, I decided on actually reading the instructions. Good job I did – the instructions pull no punches, stating that there is a strong chance of losing a limb if you don’t follow the safety advice. Thoroughly forewarned, I tentatively began to assemble the mower, counting and recounting my vulnerable digits as I went. As it turned out, assembly from the box was a straightforward affair, with just the simple task of fitting the handle using the bolts provided. All good.

Build Quality

The Hayter Osprey 46 is a solidly built machine, all shiny, slick and resplendent in dark racing green, with the engine housed in tough plastic casing. Flipping the unit reveals a seriously sharp cutting blade that affords a 46cm cutting width. The blade has seven levels of adjustment, allowing for a minimum grass height of 25mm up to a positively unkept 70 mm. It’s a weighty old bird, tipping the scales at 29 kg which I found made it just on the cusp of being too heavy to lift it into the boot of a car. If you are after a mower that you intend to take out for trips to mow your granny’s lawn, or planning to invest in a mower for your own small gardening business, this is certainly something to consider.**

Handling and Performance

Petrol-heads will appreciate the throaty rasp you can coax from the Briggs & Stratton 500 series engine. Pump the accelerator bar! Hear it roar! Clasp the auto drive bar and the Osprey will lurch forward like one of Nick’s recalcitrant greyhounds, straining on its leash on a post breakfast / pre-poo walk. The advantages of the auto drive are subtle when mowing a level lawn, but take your hand off the assist bar – especially when mowing on an incline – and you’ll soon notice the benefits. The auto assist also comes in handy when manoeuvring the mower in awkward spaces. With a bit of practice a few gentle tweaks on the bar can help turn the mower in tight circles when you need to.

Most of our testing was conducted on long-ish, damp grass, which, in some mowers, can cause clogging, especially in the channel where the grass passes from mower to grass box. The Osprey did clog on one of the earlier test runs, but we forgivingly put this down to a particularly dense patch of moss we had just ploughed through. The grass box itself has good capacity. As a guide, a full load of grass, when emptied, will half fill a standard bin bag.

Storage

The Osprey folds down neatly. The handle can be folded in two and doubles over itself with a few twists on the handle knobs, whilst the semi-rigid grass box is an added space-saving bonus. Before bedding down your mower for the night, it’s always wise to give it a good clean. Understandably, the undersides of mowers get particularly filthy, and if left unattended, wet grass detritus can prove to be particularly bothersome to shift. The Osprey has this covered, and comes equipped with a wash port. Attach a hose to the built in nozzle, turn on the tap and then turn on the engine. Whilst this helps shift the caked clippings, it doesn’t do an immaculate job (we’d advise giving it a couple of runs through, with a bit of scrubbing in between) but certainly makes the cleanup process less painful. Oh, and make sure the mower is dry before storage. Steel mowers are rust magnets, especially around the wheel axles and areas chipped by flying stones. Run the engine for a few minutes after washing, and this will dry out the machine nicely.

Before wash

After wash

Verdict

The Osprey 46 Autodrive Lawnmower is a compact, punchy petrol mower, perfect for tackling a medium to large sized garden. The auto assist is a welcome addition, effective without feeling like you have handed over control. It’s a mower that actually managed to make mowing an enjoyable experience, which is no mean feat.

*None of my strong friends were available at the time of mower delivery. And Nick was also busy.

** The fear of knacking my back when hoisting heavy weights such as this has led me to purchase a weightlifters belt. It’s not exactly stylish, but does the job. Lift with the legs! Keep the back straight!

]]>http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/hayter-osprey-46-autodrive-lawnmower-review/feed/0New booze round-up #2: featuring keller lager, crackling and tattooshttp://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/new-booze-round-up-pork-crackling-bulleit-braybrooke-keller-fullers/
http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/new-booze-round-up-pork-crackling-bulleit-braybrooke-keller-fullers/#respondFri, 11 Jan 2019 14:48:30 +0000http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/?p=8935This bunch of new treats spanned the festive period and includes lager, whisky, blackcurrant cassis and a load of salty snacks for some bite with the booze…

]]>Here’s our latest round up of the new booze (and snacks) that have passed our lips in recent weeks, including some of our drinking highlights from the festive season.

Braybrooke Keller Lager, 4.8%

We reckon there’s a bit of a marketing spend behind Braybrooke’s Keller Lager. The Leicestershire brewery has a formidable PR company supporting it who sent us a brace of bottles that was accompanied by a smart little brochure – not many individual beers get their own brochures. Thankfully for the PR company the product is a decent one: nice sweet bready malts and a gentle Germanic bitterness. Simple, tasty and effective it had Rich purring with satisfaction.

Bulleit Limited Edition

As the spirit market becomes ever more competitive, big brands are looking for innovative ways to thrust their products into the limelight. One such method that we’ve noticed gaining in popularity is the use of limited edition packages (the same product presented in a different bottle). Big bourbon brand Bulleit is the latest to get creative with glass and they sent us a bottle designed by New York tattoo artist Jess Mascetti.

We quite like the results – it’s an impressive piece of inkwork and genuinely makes the bottle feel a bit special, especially when you peer through the golden booze to view it on the reverse. As for the bourbon, it’s made with quite a lot of rye which gives it plenty of punchy spice among the oaky vanilla flavours and is one we like to use for cocktails, being especially effective in a Manhattan.

Tattooed bourbon

Pub Supper Box

This item may not actually feature booze, but it’s such a good idea for the stay-at-home drinker that we thought it deserved inclusion. The concept is simple: a subscription club that sends out a box of nine pub inspired snacks on a monthly basis. The munchables in our sample were all top notch and included posh crisps (haggis flavour!), pork crackling, roasted peas and a weighty bag of Italian onion and olive savoury biscuity things (we’ve not been to an Italian pub, but we like their style). At just £15 we think this is a beer-enhancing bargain.

What we drank over Christmas

The festive season always acts as a good excuse to try out new boozes and here’s a selection of what we guzzled this Christmas. We both stocked up on Fuller’s 2018 Vintage Ale (10.5%): a strong brew that was smooth as polished marble with creamy alcohol peppered by tannic dark fruit skins, a bit of mellow citrus and a dry oaky finish. Lovely stuff.

Edinburgh Beer Factory showered us with several beers which we shared with friends – of those we kept for ourselves Edinburgh Brown (6%) was the highlight with a rootsy bitterness cutting through the clean, fresh and frothy malty liquid.

Rich enjoyed a few tankards of keeved cider in the shape of Champagne-corked bottles from Pilton Cider whose medium sweet Tamoshanta (4.7%) greatly impressed. Nick finished his festive boozing with a dram of Campbeltown PBS whisky bottled by Cadenhead’s at a barrel strength 57.1%, a delicious drop with honeyed almonds flavours and a gentle waft of oaky smoke.

]]>http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/new-booze-round-up-pork-crackling-bulleit-braybrooke-keller-fullers/feed/0Winter fruit pruning with Okatsune Pruning Shearshttp://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/winter-fruit-pruning-garden-okatsune-pruning-shears-review/
http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/winter-fruit-pruning-garden-okatsune-pruning-shears-review/#commentsFri, 04 Jan 2019 09:42:28 +0000http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/?p=8927It’s usually not until you try something new that you realise how rubbish the old has become. I’ve been using the same pruners for years. Over time they’ve gotten a little stiff, have started to sport a rusty fringe and prefer to bludgeon their way through thicker branches rather than cut, but they’ve always just […]

]]>It’s usually not until you try something new that you realise how rubbish the old has become. I’ve been using the same pruners for years. Over time they’ve gotten a little stiff, have started to sport a rusty fringe and prefer to bludgeon their way through thicker branches rather than cut, but they’ve always just about done the job so I’ve never considered replacing them.

Towards the end of last year Dutch retailers Knives and Tools sent me a pair of Japanese Okatsune Pruning Shears to review and they’re so impressive that the old tool has now been banished from the garden.

Pruning fruiting plants is one of the first gardening jobs I undertake in a new year, so this provided an ideal opportunity to test the cut and thrust of this Japanese piece of craftsmanship. There were three key jobs to undertake. My apple trees are now established so don’t need the the same level of hacking back as in their first few years, but there were a few branches that had crossed and needed to be removed, along with some additional snips to maintain shapeliness. The casseille (a blackcurrant / gooseberry cross) and Big Ben blackcurrants needed more serious attention – they’ve been getting a bit out of control, not helped by being clumsily bent over during a fence installation, pushing most of their branches out to a horizontal direction. Besides removing old wood (currants grow best on the most recent growth) they also needed further thinning so the remaining growth had a vertical inclination. There were also a few Autumn fruiting raspberry canes to cut back to the ground.

Okatsune Pruning Shears: the verdict

I like the look of Okatsune’s pruners. They’re not flash and they don’t have weird design features that claim unusual ergonomics: they are simply a product of their functionality. I assumed the only nod to any type of aesthetic was the fancy red and white colours of the sleek, curved handles – a nod to their Japanese origin perhaps – but Rich informs me that even these are borne of function. Apparently the colour choice is to help locate them should careless cutting cause them to tumble into the undergrowth: red for daytime, white for low levels of light.

Between the handles is one of the major assets of the pruners: a tight, powerful spring that assists with the ease of the squeeze while keeping the blades running in smooth, flexible order. Those blades are forged from tough Japanese carbon steel (which is also used to make katana swords) and are hard and sharp, which should mean they stay fit for purpose for a far greater length of time than my old pruners. The cuts to every branch I tackled were managed with swift precision, and were each perfectly clean (which those plants will be extremely grateful for). The recommended upper diameter for cutting is 20mm and, although I didn’t measure what girths I overcame, the pruner managed every thickness presented to its steely blades (including a few apple branches that would’ve been too much of a burden for my old tool).

Swift and clean

I’ve always quite liked the job of pruning and, having raced around the fruit in no time, started eyeing up more of the garden that might benefit from a trim. But apart from dealing with an unruly bay tree branch I resisted the urge to get carried away and gave the pruners a quick clean before putting them away for next time.

A pair of pruners should be a tool that lasts a very long time, so it’s worth considering getting the best you can afford and are comfortable with. If, like me, you prefer the utilitarian approach married with ultimate functionality then I can highly recommend Okatsune’s Pruning Shears – I reckon it’ll be decades before something new makes this tool feel old and unwanted.

Footnote: free casseille

During fence installation my casseille was bent over to such a degree (and probably trodden on) that a branch tracked along the soil and has rooted. This has now been snipped from the main plant and will be transplanted to Rich’s allotment for a new free fruit bush.

]]>http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2019/01/winter-fruit-pruning-garden-okatsune-pruning-shears-review/feed/1New booze round-up #1: featuring Earl Grey, Millet and Quincehttp://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2018/12/new-booze-round-up-1-earl-grey-saison-millet-whiskey-and-quince-gin-loxhill-biscuit/
http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2018/12/new-booze-round-up-1-earl-grey-saison-millet-whiskey-and-quince-gin-loxhill-biscuit/#respondMon, 10 Dec 2018 15:45:45 +0000http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/?p=8893Welcome to the first in a new irregular series of new booze round-ups where we introduce some of the best drinks we've had in recent weeks…

]]>You can’t fail to have noticed that a lot of new booze is being released at the moment. Not only are craft producers are springing up all over the shop but established brands are also getting in on the act with shelf-loads of adventurous new product ranges.

Besides eagerly seeking out new boozes in pubs, supermarkets and online we also get sent more than our fair share of drink samples from businesses and PR companies eager to hear our feedback on their products (and hoping we’ll give them a mention in the press).

Until now we’ve not done much with these drinks, other than tweet any that particularly impress or intrigue, but we think the time is right to give the best of them some coverage on our blog. So here’s the first of an irregular series of ‘new booze round-ups’, covering the best of the booze that we’ve been sent or stumbled across.

St Austell Celtic Beer Festival

In November, Nick headed down to Cornwall to spend an evening at St Austell Brewery’s annual beer festival. Along with their regular beers, and a selection from other Cornish and national breweries, were a load of one-off specials brewed by various members of the St Austell and Bath Ales (owned by St Austell) brewing teams. Inspired by Cornwall’s wintery, stormy skies, Nick’s pick of the beers was a pair of dark brooding brews. Bath Ales ‘Honey I Shrunk The Porter’ (5%) was a delicious honey porter with a heady aroma of coconut rum, lots of sweet toasty malt flavours and a warming booziness, while St Austell’s annual release of its barrel aged Black Square Russian Imperial Stout (10.4%) was even better: slick and creamy with mellow fruitiness, bitter chocolate and a rich vibrancy from its barrel ageing.

Earl Grey and Biscuits

The best beer to arrive through the post came from the good folk at Borough Market who worked with brewer Daniel Tapper of The Beak Brewery to create a 5.2% saison made with Earl Grey tea (provided by trader Organic Life) and hops grown at the front of the market hall. We like Earl Grey as an adjunct – it’s a tea that’s flavoured with Bergamot which has floral orange flavours that aren’t a million miles from some hops while the tea’s tannin gives beers an extra dryness at the finish. This saison suited the Earl Grey addition exceptionally well: an amazingly fresh and spritzy beer with those tea characteristics perfectly well balanced with the clean and punchy malt, yeast and hop flavours.

We were also introduced to Surrey outfit Crafty Brewing in the form of a three pack featuring their Five Hop IPA, Pale Ale and the brilliantly named Loxhill Biscuit (3.8%). It’s a golden sweet and light biscuity brew with subtle orangey citrus flavours from Amarillo hops (it also includes First Gold and Challenger) that perk up through the moderately bitter finish: one to file in the ‘easy drinking’ category.

Bourbon and Gin

Our most recent commissions for the i paper included round-ups of gin (Rich) and bourbon (Nick). Among Rich’s selection was a quince gin from distillers Whitley Neill which features the flavours of the under-appreciated Persian fruit with earthy and piney bitter notes of juniper and spice. Rich thought it had a not-too-sweet zestiness and recommended skipping the tonic and drinking neat, pairing it with cheese over the festive period.

Among Nick’s bourbons was an organic spirit from Koval, a Chicago distillery making inroads into the UK market. Along with the bourbon he also got hold of a bottle of their whiskey made from 100% millet, an incredibly smooth and creamy spirit with quite a noticeable aroma and flavour of pears mingling with the soft grains.